Pedestrian Rights & Resources

If You Are Hit By a Car, Know Your Rights

As a result of Walk SF’s advocacy for Vision Zero, the San Francisco Police Department changed its standing operating procedures regarding how drivers are treated if they hit someone with their vehicle. Effective February 2014, the SFPD now cites and charges at-fault drivers in cases of serious or fatal traffic injuries.

Get witness info: names and numbers of any witnesses. Sometimes police do not get the names and numbers of all witnesses. Take photos of the scene if you can.

Pedestrian Right-of-Way

In San Francisco, all intersections of streets wider than 25 feet are legal crosswalks, unless they specifically say “no crossing” – and Walk San Francisco works regularly to open up all “closed” crossings”in the city. Whether a street crossing is marked or unmarked with crosswalk paint, it’s a legal crosswalk.

Pedestrians have the right of way; drivers and cyclists are required to yield, i.e., stop behind the line and leave crosswalks free for pedestrians (CVC 21954 (b), CVC 21950, and CVC 21455)

Cyclists must obey stop signs and red lights, just like other vehicles (CVC 21200)

Also, at nearly every public and private K-12 school citywide, the speed limit for streets in the school area is 15 MPH (this was one of Walk SF’s big wins!). During times when children are present, drivers must obey posted signs for the area within 500 feet of any school located on two-lane streets and reduce their speeds to 15 MPH.